Bob Worthington

Email : mailto:coachworthington@joyofthegame.com

Coach Worthington was born and raised in Zion, Illinois and in 1980 he started as a freshman on the Varsity Zion Benton basketball team. 1400 points, 1000 rebounds and 350 blocks later, he earned the right to play college basketball at Dodge City Community College in Dodge City, Kansas. Bob was named All State, All Region as well as Junior College All American, playing for NJCC Hall of Fame coach, Casey Malek.

After his start at Dodge City Community College, he accepted a full scholarship to play basketball for another Hall of Fame coach, Jud Heathcote, at Michigan State University. Coach Worthington was a multi-dimensional power forward for the Spartans, playing alongside George Papadakaos, Steve Smith and Ken Redfield. He also played with a large number of professional alumni like Earvin Johnson, Kevin Willis and many more while at MSU.

Coach Worthington continued his basketball career after MSU by playing on European travel teams. This allowed him the opportunity to be selected and play in Belgium, Turkey and Yugoslavia. The basketball that he was exposed to overseas was an unbelievable experience and he is very proud to have had that opportunity. Having been exposed to top level basketball and top level basketball coaching , it was a no brainer for Coach Worthington to enter into the coaching field and he returned to his alma-mater, Zion Benton Township High School, to work with kids from his community, where he held the position of Dean of Students. While at Zion Benton, Coach Worthington’s first coaching experience was head coach of freshman boys basketball and held that position for 2 years, from 1993 until 1995, piling up 46 victories in two years. His next coaching job was varsity assistant coach with Hall of Fame coach, Don Kloth, from 1995 until present. The Zee-Bees (7 N. Suburban Division titles, 8 N. Suburban Conference Championshps, 13 Regional titles, 4 Sectional titles, 2nd in IHSA 2008) have had a lot of success and Coach Worthington has been a big part of that. Coach Worthington will be inducted into the Lake County Hall of Fame in November of 2011. While he appreciates this honor, he gets the most satisfaction when he sees student athletes achieve their dreams both on and off the court.

Entering his second year at Joy of The Game, Coach Worthington is very excited and motivated to teach basketball to the young men in and around Lake County.